CROWN POINT | As city officials and residents debated a proposal for downtown condominiums in recent months, the project's potential neighbor, the Sheriff's House and former Lake County Jail, has been thrust into the spotlight.

Not all of the talk, particularly concerning the present condition of the jail, has been positive.

Now members of the Old Sheriff's House Foundation Inc. are trying to make the public aware of the efforts to preserve both buildings despite years of neglect. The group plans to host a news conference on the topic next week.

"They would like to make people aware of what they've done and where they're going," attorney Bruce Lambka said.

First placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, the property was acquired by the foundation in 1991. Since then, the group has done a great deal of restoration. It has replaced and repaired parts of the Sheriff's House roof and rebuilt its front porch and front door. The jail's roof also has been replaced, including some of the framing, and parapets and the chimney have been rebuilt.

The foundation has raised and spent more than $350,000 on the project to date, thanks to the work of members, private donors, corporations and federal and state grants.

Members of the foundation say they are determined to complete restoration of the Sheriff's House and are exploring some potential creative uses for the jail.

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The Old Sheriff's House Foundation Inc. will host a news conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Ticor Title Insurance Co., 11055 Broadway, Suite A.

Give me a break. The sherriffs house is cool but the jail should be torn down. The sherrifs house foundation has been working on fixing up the sherrifs house for 15 years and it still has boarded up windows.

Everything takes time. I doubt that the people working on the site go to bed everynight saying...'Oh maybe tomorrow' I mean once this is done then what ...it just becomes another historical site that 'nobody' thinks about